When I was a kid, I was constantly terrified.
My imagination was a bad neighborhood.
I read scary comics like "Tales From The Crypt"
And watched horror films more than I should.
The first Sunday morning of every month,
I could be found at the local drug store
Looking for the latest issue of "Monster"
And other mags filled with blood, guts and gore.
On Saturday night, my buddies and I
Would stay up late and watch B-horror flicks
Presented by Vampirella or Seymour
And get our horrification fix.
One would think I was a pretty tough little guy
From all these "inappropriate" movies and rags
But I was actually the world's youngest insomniac.
I had suitcases under my eyes, not just bags.
But the thing that scared me the most, by far,
Didn't haunt houses or howl, creep or crawl.
Frankenstein and Dracula were big sissies
Compared to typical, everyday DOLLS.
During sleepovers at my best friend's house
All the dolls in his little sister's room
Made me not just run back home to mommy,
I'd run straight back up into the womb.
I couldn't stand their cold, lifeless grins;
Their painted-on, glassy-eyed stares.
They attempted to murder me night after night
In tortured, tormented nightmares.
Then Rod Serling had to throw in his two cents
And make my night-time fear level climb
When he introduced me to a one "Talky Tina" -
The freakin' scariest doll of all time!
Every night after that, I'd perform a routine
To make sure I was completely alone.
I'd check in the closet and under the bed
With fear that made me quake to the bone.
As I lay in my bed, hiding under the sheets,
A sweaty, petrified, nervous wreck,
I'd hear Tina say, "I'm going to kill you"
And feel her little hands grabbing my neck.
Of course, that was a long, long time ago.
Now I'm all grown up, brave and strong.
Talky Tina never comes to call anymore
And my slumber is peaceful and long.
But sometimes even now, when the moon is right
And the wind makes shadows dance on the wall,
I imagine I see a small figure run by.
I imagine I hear Tina call.
I pull in my dangling hands and feet,
Yank the covers up over my head
And I'm that goofy kid all over again
Lying scared and alone in my bed.
Author notes
Written January 9th, 2004
In a list
A contest entry
- ***Horror*** by Night0wI.
300 points, ended November 3, 2004, 5 entries
Silver trophy winner
• next poem in this contest, remove from contest
What did you think
Comments
1 - 40 of 40
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Thank you for your entry in our contest, a nice scary story, just right for children but we feel that it would be improved by some extra work on the flow and meter.
Please join us in our future contests as we look forward to reading more from you...Sue and Jeff
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You are not alone, in your terror! Dolls are such ambiguous things, like voodoo talismans they can haunt you. A friend has a Pierrot doll with little black glittering eyes, that makes me very uneasy whenever I see it. I cover its face whenever I can.
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Yeah, you've got me now. I think I would probably drop dead with fright if I opened my door and saw a bunch of Tina dolls standing there. Please don't send them. lol
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yay! the rhyming poem finally
well now the know your weak point
...wait! there would be bunch of tina's sisters at your door on 11 june
Ankita -
Wait... 
I HAVE always been haunted by the dang doll! I shall never read you again. Well done. But oh so terrifying ack ack [covers her eyes]
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very interesting write, i liked every part of it! captivating and terrifying to all those who know the fear you have described so well!!! great write!
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understand that completely but I was petrified and still to this day of Chuckie..... I know it's really sad but it's the only thing that can scare me anymore...... maybe cause i'm a girl who used to play with dolls way way back in the day
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Howdy Mark
You're very welcome... I often get told I'm too picky with typos and such... lol.. but I can't help it!
You have a happy Sunday too!!
~Aimee
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Hi Aimee,
Thanks for letting me know about the typo. I can't believe I missed that! It's amazing how you can read something a hundred times and keep missing something so simple.
Thanks too for the spooky story about your doll. That would definitely have freaked me out. Congratulations on being one of the few people who isn't afraid of clowns. lol
Have a happy Sunday!
Mark -
Oh!! And one more thing... I forgot to mention that I found a typo in this write.. yes, leave it to me to find a typo
*I'd here Tina say should be.... hear*
Ok .. now I feel better, just had to let ya' know
~Aimee
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LOL... this was good stuffs as always, Mark!!! I remember the twilight zone, too... I'm not real old.. but I'm not a baby either.. lol. I also remember seeing some pretty gruesome and freaky Alfred Hitchcock films... yes.. that man is the king of spook. I've got my own story of a doll.. my very first doll ever. My mom had bought it for me for a birthday, when I was much younger, of course. Well this was one of those talking baby wets it types. That damn thing would just start talking in the dark while I was sleeping. Noramlly, those things don't talk when you're not playing with them. My mom just had to go and buy the possessed one I still don't like dolls much to this day...those faces just get to me. I do, however like clowns... lol... IT has nothing over me Enjoyed this read, as always, Mark... You've brought thoughts of those years long past. Always a pleasure to read something written by the great Mark Rickerby
~Aimee
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Oh My...and I thought that this only ran in my family!!! I have never been fond of porcelain dolls becuase of their false faces and the fact that they always seemed to be staring no matter where I was in a room with their glazed over eyes!!! My little brother is this way as well. He is so petrified of dolls that he won't sleep in a room with them...lol... Great write and best of wishes...~genbielassie~
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that doll at the top looks really evil....my sister is grown up and still thinks that dolls are disturbing and spook suppose its the voodoo element...great style of writing that is very absorbing and really holds your interest
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"DITTO " on that comment Mark , and thx
Reenie
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Hey Reenie,
I think I would agree with you about that shame doll. Making it faceless is a bit harsh. It's like saying if a child does something wrong, they lose their identity, when they are actually defined by everything they do, as we all are. Psychology aside, that doll sounds downright spooky! Nyaaaahhh!
Good luck with your Master's Degree. That's awesome!
I'm off to check under the bed. Bye!
Mark -
it rocks!
aw! this was so cute! and very well written! i like the rhyme scheme! i think my mom had this doll when she was little...but hers was broken, and it didnt talk, so her parents took it back to the store....too bad it wasnt the talking tina that you were talking about..hehee! i liked the description in this piece. this poem made me laugh. i really liked this stanza, "During sleepovers at my best friend's house
all the dolls in his little sister's room
made me not just run back home to mommy,
I'd run straight back up into the womb."
that last line is really funny! !! once again, this is a great piece, and i enjoyed reading it! stop by and read some of mine sometime!
xoxo colorfulrainbow*
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Holy! This is so funny!!! I read it and couldn't help but think back about how my older brothers used to watch the show Chucky when I was just a little girl. Scary! Great job though. I'm really glad I took the time to check it out. Keep up the great work!!
~Shels -
Well this took me back. What a spot on bit of narrative this is. I remeber all those moments too when I was just plain scared shitless by some of these films and shows. You atleast knew that you were alive! Great writing Mark
David -
Oh this reminds me of ME! But it wasnt dolls I was scared of, it was clowns. It always gave me the creeps the way they had painted on smiles and the face underneath didnt match, what were they really trying to hide.... Then when I saw Stephen Kings movie 'It' with that clown Pennywise, that confirmed everything! To this day I cant stand looking a clown in the face.
I like this poem, the way you relay your story brought me back to my own childhood. You made me think, nice work
jane
Edited on Jan 25, 8:35 because ''. -
i like it
i had the same fear but not of talky tina mine was normal porcielin dolls my grandma used to buy me and after toy story toys in general i like the ending because i think everyones still a big goofy kid hiding under the covers -
B R I L L I A N T
Fantastic. Entertaining! Way to go with the word, 'horrorfication', this is one of the best poems I have read!
Thank you. -
LOL @ Mark!
Kinda hard for me to picture YOU being afraid of a DOLL, but then again, the one at the top of the page does remind me a bit of Linda Blair in "The Exorcist!" Half way expect her head to start spinning! I can sorta relate, though....I used to stay up all night reading Stephen King novels and getting myself scared senseless, then I'd lay there in the dark and be scared by the silliest and most innocent of things....like my hamster! It startled me once after one of my horror novel marathons and then I had stupid hamster nightmares for a month afterward! I think they're adorable, but not when they have 6-inch fangs and crawl into bed with you! I'd lay there under the covers just waiting because I kept dreaming the little rodents were after me! Then I dreamed that I dipped them in pancake batter and deep fried them and I felt so bad when I woke up I was never afraid of them again! I swear this is true! Well, maybe I better not razz you too much about Talky Tina after all! LOL!
Love & Hugs
~Janet~
Edited on Jan 21, 1:43 because ''. -
Trilogy of Terror was one of the reasons I was afraid of dolls, too. That was a doll on acid! Man, what a swirl of emotions that one caused in me. Sheer terror because of the doll and adolescent lust for Karen Black, especially when she was stabbing the floor with that knife when her husband came home. ooh la la! haha
Mark -
Hysterical!
That's hysterical! It reminds me of Karen Black in "Trilogy of Terror," where the wooden evil doll comes to life and eventually inhabits her body...gave me nightmares for years! -
Excellent!
Yep, dolls can create fear in the bravest heart! Who could forget "Chuckie"? And, how 'bout those clowns?
Never did like 'em! 
I went to the fair with a grown-up friend of mine and I could smell his fear when the clowns got near.
Enjoyed your poem! Great rhymes and very funny! There's something about fear that cracks me up (unless it's my own, of course). 
Maureen
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Oh my ........I saw your pic on your authorpage , then tried to imagine this little boy that was petrified of that doll , ( you,ve come a long way baby ) but I really enjoyed this . It seems as there were quite a few pwho were scared of dolls , I believe it might be because of some of the movies that were made about them . There is only one doll that bothers me up to this day....my niece has one and when I saw her ...i had a literal fit . The doll satands about 2 ft tall , she has no face , but covers it with her hands and she has sort of a slouched posture . She is called the shame doll....supposed to be used when the child has been made ...you put child in corner with this faceless doll, because at the moment you were bad....you have no face and noone wants to see you I am trying to start classes at the end of the month to finish my Master's degree in early childhood development ......and my personal feelings about this doll run deep. Every child always has a face , yes it might be a frown on it or a pout , but this reminds me of making them nonexistant....anyway , enough rambling for now . Thx again for your kind comment on my poem in this contest , and don
t forget to look under the bed and in the closets every night
Reenie
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OMG! I was scared of my shadow when I was a kid, but I loved dolls of all kinds. You probably would have been terrified of my 3 ft. tall Mary Jane doll, especially when my cruel brothers chopped off her hand, and painted the part of her hand that was left with red nail polish. I cried for a week at the torture.
I had nightmares, and of course they were punished, but that didn't change my trauma. This is a very well written story poem, chalked with so many little boy things, the "monster magazines, scary B-movies"... Great write my friend, all the best luck with the contest.
Much Love,
Renee
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10+
This reminds me so much of the evil doll from The Twilight Zone...(hears the theme music in head). Those damn porcelain dolls are scary.Lol. Barbie dolls don't scare me eaither...I actually collect them. This was a great poem. Watch out for those dolls.
~Amanda~
Edited on Jan 13, 5:28 because 'typo'. -
INSTRUCTIONS FOR AVOIDING TALKY TINA ATTACKS:
I'm sorry to have to tell you this, but the "nine" won't do you any good against Talky Tina. Telly Savalas (Kojak!) tried to burn her and saw her in half with a power saw but she was indestructible! She even got out of a trash can with bricks piled on top of it. The only protection is covering yourself completely with your favorite blanket. That's what I discovered as a kid, anyway. Oh, and watch your step when you're going down the stairs at night.
Mark -
hahaha...... I don't mean to laugh... but the picture is got me under the covers and I write this response in the darkness of those covers..... lol... of course I have my "nine" on me.... lol
Don -
Freaky little things used to scare me to death... Actually, the talking Tina episode is one of my favorite twilight zones!
Jade -
Awesome poem! I know exactly how that goes too...I would always check the closet..and move all my stuffed anmals/dolls out of my room before I slept (I was weird, I know it). Howdy Doody scared me the most though (in fact to this day ventriliquist dolls scare me - I couldn't be left alone in a room with one, I'd go crazy). Great poem=) Like I expected any less from you?=)
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Oh my god. I can TOTALLY RELATE to this poem! Dolls are so scary! I swear I used to be the same way. When I went to friend's houses, I had to remove all the dolls in their room so I could sleep. They are not ok. Dolls and clowns. Eeeeeccchhhhh. Great write here. It made me laugh as I shuddered. Oh, and the picture of the doll up there is terrifying. Yipes.
Edited on Jan 10, 4:53 p.m. because 'Forgot to mention the PICTURE...'. -
perfectly awesome
Mark...this is brilliant. I laughed out loud twice...and kept catching myself nodding in agreement. Yup...this is perfect. I love the line "My imagination was a bad neighborhood"...just yummy!!! And, of course, the image of you returning to the womb just about had me in tears of laughter. Thanks so much for the bright spot in my early morning.
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Whoa. That doll was definitely a vessel for a spirit. Maybe one of the souls of those burning witches flew up and into the doll then got stuck inside. Kind of like Chucky, come to think of it!
Okay, I better knock this kind of thinking off or I won't sleep tonight. My mind is STILL a bad neighborhood. haha
I'm glad to see "the younger crowd" still has a healthy appreciation for the finer things in life - opera, theater, The Twilight Zone . . . haha
I'm off to check the closet and under the bed. Tina might have heard me talking about her and decided to drop in for old times.
See ya!
Mark -
okay...... I am part of the younger crowd (18 years old) and I know what the twilight zone is... and that pic is scary stuff...... wow...... haunting????? lol... it kinda reminds me of a house that a friend of mine lived in... it had a doll in it that was over a hundred years old... and when the doll broke the house became haunted.... and we looked up the records to the house... there were "witches" that were burned at the stake on that property... freaky huh!!!!!!!!
Jeff -
Thanks, Jeff. I'm glad you liked it and yes, the porcelain dolls are the worst. Did you ever see the movie called Dolls? Wicked.
I had a great time writing this one. It was like time travel. Funny how one question like "What scared you as a kid?" can bring back so many memories.
I dug up a good photo of Talky Tina on the net and am going to post it right now so the younger crowd who may not have discovered The Twilight Zone yet (Unimaginable!) can see the subject of my childhood nightmares. haha
Thanks for coming up with such a great idea for a contest.
Mark -
first off..... Brinda... I had the same problem as a child!!! second off...... Damn... this an awesome write... I usually had the biggest problem with porcelain dolls watching me as I walked by.. and CHUCKY... OMG.... he haunted my nightmares for the longest time.... I like the fact that you gave some insight on who you were before you got into your fear... that was a nice touch.. and then the deapth and detail of the whole thing.. but the best part (I thought) was the way that you ended it stating that sometimes you still see Tina's shadow run by.. great... I had the chills the whole time.. this is my first contest and I am glad that the topic cought your eye... great job.. and thanks.... good luck!!!!!
Jeff -
Hi Mari,
Yes, I admit it. haha
Barbie dolls never scared me. It's the spooky little hollow-eyed ones like Talky Tina that made my skin crawl (and still do.)
Eeek!
Mark -
No, afraid of a doll! That is the first time I hear that a boy is/was scared by a doll, at least by a toy doll. I would like to see your expression if you had to sleep by a niece or so who happened to have those giants barbie doll. I guess it would be your nightmare coming through!
Very amusing write, for all the reasons!
Lots of (dolls)
Mari
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